Page 19: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2024)

TOR SVANES, FOUNDER AND CEO, NAVTOR and CEO of NAVTOR, said. “But this takes us to over 18,000.

Stronger Together

That’s more than 30% of all the ships relevant to our services

From the cornerstone of e-Navigation NAVTOR has built in the world ? eet. The opportunity that scale unlocks, for both up a range of products and services that co-exist in the afore- ourselves and our customers, is immense, and that was the mentioned digital ecosystem. Here they share, and feed one motivation here. another with, a constant ? ow of data, with each individual so- “So, this doesn’t mark the culmination of our efforts, or the lution working to unlock value that is then fed back into the end of our voyage. We see this as just the beginning.” joined-up system.

It creates almost a ‘society’ of mutually supportive solu-

Unlocking Opportunity tions, each one working away for the greater good of all. Or

It’s clear that after well over 40 years in the maritime for ‘all’ read the shipping company, which can simplify com- technology ? eld (he started with Robertson, then owned by pliance, reduce energy consumption, cut administration du-

Kongsberg, in 1980) Svanes ambitions have anything but di- ties, optimize and prove performance, enhance safety, control minished. He has helped position NAVTOR ? rmly facing costs, and so much more, according to NAVTOR. And this is the future, with a clear vision of ‘leading the way in smart achieved not just for single vessels, but for entire ? eets and shipping innovation’. The Voyager deal, he says, is central (now) united on- and offshore teams.

to that aim.

To list the bene? ts of each individual offering would take too “We’re delighted with the way NAVTOR has grown, long – from the ease of automated Passage Planning on NavSta- launching industry ? rsts such as Pay As You Sail ENCs and tion, through to the CII simplifying Emissions Calculator on

NavStation, the ? rst maritime digital chart table, along the ? eet management tool NavFleet – but Svanes points out NAV- way,” Svanes said. “As we’d built a secure digital ecosystem TOR’s Digital Logbooks as a case study in transformation.

to unite the e-Navigation portfolio onboard, while connecting vessels to onshore teams, it made perfect sense to take the next

Book to the Future step, moving into smart shipping with performance monitor-

For anyone from outside the industry, he notes, it’d be “a ing, management and optimization, and then digital logbooks.

complete shock” to discover the analogue nature of vessel “By integrating everything onto the NAVTOR platform we logbooks in a digital age. found we could really unlock the power of data: automating “These are very important data sources, covering a range of processes, enhancing safety, improving ef? ciency and deliv- critical issues, but they exist in isolation as out-dated, of? ine ering both commercial and environmental bene? ts to shipping publications, often with scribbled entries from under pressure companies worldwide. of? cers that can be dif? cult to decipher,” said Svanes. “As “But then, as you progress, barriers emerge… and you need such, they’re time-consuming and impractical, a major source to ? nd ways to address them.” of human error, offer no real standardization, little chance for

In NAVTOR’s case those barriers appear to have been the veri? cation or validation, and have to be shared via photo- extra ‘muscle’ needed to achieve the team’s ambitions. copying, scanning and faxing. “It’s hard to believe they still play such a major role in daily

Bulking Up operations for an advanced worldwide ? eet.”

To really lead, helping to enable a more ef? cient, sustain-

NAVTOR’s approach is to ? re the format into the future able and pro? table industry, the company found itself hunger- with digital logbooks that are connected via the ecosystem, ing for an in? ux of both customers and resources, in particular gathering all the data – much of which has been auto populat- human resources.

ed from the team’s integrated solutions – so shipping compa- “Talented developers are hard to come by, and, in a niche nies have a new, and powerful, big data resource to delve into.

de? ned by digital solutions, absolutely essential for progress,” “It simpli? es tasks for the crew,” Svanes notes, “while

Svanes said. “With Voyager Worldwide we saw a pool of very opening immense possibilities for real-time data monitoring, talented people; 30 developers in their Aberdeen of? ce alone, ef? ciency, and continually enhanced sustainability for ship- that could accelerate our innovation. In addition, the customer ping companies.” base obviously adds the volume we were looking for, while

Although he admits there’s no mandated regulations for the network of of? ces boosts our global footprint, getting us digital logbooks yet he believes it’s “only a matter of time.” as close to the customers, on the scale needed to deliver ? rst “And, with all the bene? ts, why would you wait for a man- class service. For example, the deal pushed NAVTOR num- date?,” Svanes asks.

bers in Singapore from seven to 75 people. In that respect, our business has been transformed.”

Stepping on the GASS

Svanes now wants to do the same for the businesses of

A return to that issue of scale takes the conversation back to

NAVTOR customers. And integration is the key.

how NAVTOR can really ‘lead the way’ for smarter shipping www.marinelink.com 19

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